I Survived an Acid Attack

December 2009. The life of Patricia Lefranc shatters into pieces.

As Patricia is entering her building's lobby, her ex-boyfriend smashes her on the ground and attacks her with acid. The nightmare lasts several minutes and Patricia is burned to the third and fourth degree on 30% of her body, including her whole face. "When I woke up, I resented the doctors for keeping me alive" she explains.

But Patricia has three children whom she loves dearly and it was impossible for her to give up on life. This young woman, with a sweet voice and an incredible sense of humour, has decided to live, to fight and move on with her life. Today, she is struggling to recover her old face and has already gone through 97 surgeries. She is also advocating to ban the free selling of sulfuric acid in Europe. This book tells a touching story, filled with challenges and won battles.

Discover the touching testimony of a woman who, without even realizing it, teaches us a great deal about heroism

EXCERPT

My childhood was far from plain sailing. On the contrary.

But the events I went through during those years made me who I am. The last child of a reconstituted family, I shared the lives of two sisters and a brother from my mother’s first marriage.

We were all born about two years apart. One detail, however, proved important : I was the only girl born from the union of my parents. Our relations were never good, as far as I can remember. I nicknamed this tandem ‘the union of the perverse and mad’. That says it all...

My early childhood is a huge black hole. Every last recollection has vanished into thin air. From the most trivial incidents to the toys that were my companions throughout the time I was learning about life, all has literally disappeared.